Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was delighted with his side’s 3-0 Sky Bet Championship home win over Blackburn.
Scottish striker Ryan Hardie took his tally to four goals in five league games with an opportunist 77th-minute close-range goal then won the aerial duel to tee up Luke Cundle’s sublime chip over goalkeeper Aynsley Pears as promoted Argyle climbed to 10th. Finn Azaz’s deflected 27th-minute strike had opened the scoring.
Schumacher said: “It’s a huge three points for us. It gives us seven points from our first five games in the Championship, we can all be quite pleased with that.
“We go into the international break having got maximum points today, which is important.
“We have won the game probably without playing our best. We played better in our last two league games and on Tuesday night in the cup and haven’t got anything from those games.
“It’s a funny old game football. Blackburn were a really tough opponent and for us to get three points from it? It’s a huge win.
“I really like them. They are a good, well-organised, fit, young squad and have caused everyone they have played so far this season problems and they caused us problems today.
“In the first half they had more energy than us and played with a better tempo. We were half a yard off them and they were the better team and we scored against the run of play.
“At half-time we spoke about being a little more aggressive, we changed our press slightly and with the chances we created in the second half we were clinical, which – as everyone has seen so far – hugely important in the Championship.”
Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson said: “We all know how important the first goal is.
“We had the chances to score the first goal, they scored the first goal from a deflection.
“I don’t think it is a fair scoreline if you look at the game, not at all. If you look up until the 75th minute, I was thinking, ‘how is it possible we are not leading this game?’.
“We played some great football but at the end of the day, it is about putting the ball in the goal. We had the opportunities.
“The first goal they scored was a deflection and we all know how difficult it is to come here. I think they won 20 out of 23 home games last season. So it’s a good record.
“To create that many opportunities in the final third was good, but of course we are extremely disappointed with the result.
“I am disappointed we couldn’t give the fans one or three points.
“The first goal was extremely unlucky, it was a deflection and our deflected shot hit the bar. But if you make mistakes when you are a striker it is different than if you make mistakes at the back.”
Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine
Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.
Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.
Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.
Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.
Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.
Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona
Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.
The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.
Minnesota United v LA Galaxy: Berry hails veteran Caceres
Miguel Berry was the hero last time out for the LA Galaxy, but he hailed veteran defender Martin Caceres.
Berry scored in the dying seconds as the Galaxy salvaged a 2-2 draw with Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake at the weekend.
It was a point that saw Galaxy maintain the two-point gap between themselves and RSL, with Minnesota United – who sit second in the West – next up for Greg Vanney’s team.
Berry’s last-gasp equaliser sparked wild celebrations, and Caceres – the former Juventus defender – was heavily involved, despite being a substitute.
And Berry was quick to point out the 37-year-old’s importance to the Galaxy’s squad.
“[Caceres] is one of those people who makes your day better every single day. He's incredibly funny and unique and he's had a great career, and he's such a big part of the group,” said Berry, in quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune.
“For him to celebrate like that with us shows how much it means. He's played Champions League finals, won Champions League finals and played four World Cups. It's incredible, guys like that, celebrate with the team, means a lot.
“It's obviously a great feeling as a team to have those moments and when you look back on your career and your life, those are the moments that stick with you.”
The Galaxy have drawn their last two games, while Minnesota head into Wednesday’s meeting on the back of three straight wins.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Teemu Pukki
Pukki has scored five goals in his first two matches against LA Galaxy, the sixth player in league history to score five or more times in his first two matches against a single opponent and the first to do so against the Galaxy.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig recorded the primary assist on both of the Galaxy’s goals on Saturday, setting up strikes for Gabriel Pec and Miguel Berry. Puig’s 10 primary assists for the Galaxy have set up goals for nine different players with Gaston Brugman the only teammate he’s set up more than once.
MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WIN
Minnesota have won three consecutive matches for the first time since August 2022. The Loons’ only winning streak of longer than three games in all competitions was a seven-match run in June-July 2019.
Dating back to last September, the Galaxy have lost only four of the last 10 matches in which they trailed by multiple goals (W2 D4), including losing only one of four this year (W1 D2).
Galaxy have won six of their first eight meetings with Minnesota United (D2, including playoffs), but have won just one of the six meetings (D2 L3) since.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 53%
LA Galaxy – 21.7%
Draw – 25.3%
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
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